Quote of the day: Ellison pokes at 'sappy' rival

Oracle may have closed its strategic acquisition of PeopleSoft in January, but Chief Executive Larry Ellison hasn't ceased taking jabs at his company's rivals. According to a recent BusinessWeek interview with Oracle President Charles Phillips, the often-controversial CEO has taken to calling rival software maker SAP "sap."

Q: I noticed yesterday that Larry Ellison repeatedly called SAP "sap" in the conference call.
Phillips: Very perceptive.

Q: Was that intentional?
Phillips: Yes.

Q: Why so?
Phillips: He likes calling them "sap."

Q: I never really heard that from him before.
Phillips: You'll hear more. It sounds better, at least from our perspective.

Q: It's diminutive.
Phillips: Right.

While Oracle may hope to see its rivals shrink in size, it is taking active steps to grow itself. Ellison announced on Tuesday that Oracle hopes to acquire Minneapolis-based Retek at $9 a share--just over a week after SAP made its own offer of $8.50 a share for the retail software maker.